"Death where is
thy sting?
O grave where is thy victory?"

9 The screen by John Abel with
the Stuart 's Royal Coat of Arms surmounting the entrance to the
Choir.

History
of the early church

Constructed of dark Herefordshire sandstone
speckled with white lime, the old Abbey at Abbey Dore is in fact
the chancel, crossing and transepts of an old Cistercian Abbey. It
was founded in 1147 although most of what remains dates from a
rebuilding of the original structure which commenced in 1180 -
right on the transitional date between Norman and Early English
styles of architecture. The change between the two is clearly
marked in the building of the ambulatory and the details of the
carving of the capitals and arches.

Interior contrasts with exterior, in that inside
the walls and columns are of limestone and there are splendid 17th
century fittings. After the dissolution of the monasteries Abbey
Dore fell into ruin, but in the 1630s the Scudamore family rescued
it for the parish under the influence of the high church
Archbishop Laud. They raised the present battlemented tower,
inserted stained glass into the eastern lancet windows, and
employed a talented carpenter - one John Abel (1577-1664), whose
job it was to raise the new timbered roof, and to construct and
carve the choir stalls and screens.

The whole is a splendid example of 17th century
classicism, a "squirearchy Baroque" in celebration of
the Manor, the church and the Stuart crown. [Jenkins
- England's 1000 Best Curches]

The
Gallery

The old oak gallery standing against the west wall
of the crossing is his work also.